Qiao Xingyue asked casually because she was puzzled as to why Comrade Xie was changing his bedding in the middle of the night.
By the time she reacted belatedly, the man in front of her was blushing even more intensely.
It actually made him look especially cute.
How could Qiao Xingyue not know the reason?
If a man washes bedding in the middle of the night, there are only two possible reasons. Either he wet the bed, or he had a dream and dirtied the bedding.
Clearly, it was the latter.
Knowing that Comrade Xie was thin skinned, Qiao Xingyue did not continue questioning him.
“Comrade Xie, I am taking Ningning back to sleep.”
“Mhm.”
Xie Zhongming did not even lift his eyelids. Inside, however, chaos reigned. He quickly took long strides downstairs.
The washroom.
The quiet night was completely broken by the sound of rushing water.
Xie Zhongming stood at the faucet, scooping water again and again to splash onto his face.
Cold water struck his face relentlessly, yet it could not extinguish the burning shame and guilt in his heart.
For five years, he had never harbored improper thoughts toward any woman, nor had he ever dreamed about a female comrade.
Tonight’s dream was truly outrageous.
He splashed another handful of water onto his face and then turned the faucet to its maximum.
“Zhongming?”
Jiang Beiyang had just returned from night training and was about to head home.
Jiang Beiyang’s father was also a former leader of the Jincheng Military District. The housing assigned to the Jiang family happened to be right next to the washroom.
Houses like theirs, two story buildings with small courtyards, were equipped with private washrooms and kitchens. Xie Zhongming was afraid that washing bedding at home would disturb his parents and grandmother.
Besides, who washes bedding in the middle of the night?
Being caught by Comrade Qiao was already embarrassing enough. If his parents saw him, it would be unbearable.
So he came to the shared washroom.
Late at night, Jiang Beiyang was drawn by the sound of rushing water. When he walked closer, he was shocked to find his good brother washing bedding here.
Spring nights were still chilly, yet Xie Zhongming was wearing a military green vest.
Both arms were exposed.
Under the dim yellow light, his movements scrubbing the bedding were fast and forceful. The muscles and veins on his arms bulged.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and a faint redness spread behind his ears.
As a man himself, and a man in his twenties who had not yet married, Jiang Beiyang understood everything.
He stepped forward and hooked an arm around Xie Zhongming’s shoulder.
“Zhongming, washing bedding in the middle of the night. Which female comrade did you dream about?”
“Let me guess.”
Jiang Beiyang’s hand was pushed away by Xie Zhongming, yet he deliberately leaned closer.
“It definitely was not the chubby wife. Zhongming, be honest. Could it be that you dreamed about the fair skinned and beautiful Comrade Qiao?”
Xie Zhongming’s ears burned.
He truly could not calm himself.
After years of restraint, this was the first time he had lost control because of a woman.
He clenched his fists, knuckles turning pale. No matter how much he despised the chubby wife, he was still a married man. As long as that status existed, he should not harbor even the slightest improper thought toward Comrade Qiao.
Turmoil churned within him. On the surface, he shot Jiang Beiyang a cold glance.
“Morning drills tomorrow. Do you want to lead five hundred weighted clapping push ups?”
Damn it.
Five hundred push ups were already brutal.
And weighted clapping ones on top of that.
“Are you exploiting labor? I just brought new recruits back from night training and you still want me to lead morning drills?”
Jiang Beiyang and Xie Zhongming had grown up together.
Although Xie Zhongming was his superior and Jiang Beiyang his subordinate, Jiang Beiyang loved teasing him in private. He slung an arm over Xie Zhongming’s shoulder again.
“Be honest. Who did you dream about?”
Xie Zhongming gripped the enamel basin tightly and raised his eyes coldly.
“Go back and sleep.”
Early the next morning, because the wound had not fully healed and was infected, Xie Zhongming did not go to morning training.
Still used to waking early, he rose at five thirty as usual. After washing up, he stayed in his room reading for a while.
When he heard movement from Comrade Qiao’s room across the hall, likely her getting up to make breakfast, his fingers tightened fiercely around the page.
Only after he heard footsteps going downstairs did his clenched fingers finally relax.
That morning, Xie Zhongming did not go downstairs for breakfast.
It was only after hearing Comrade Qiao say that she was taking the two children to the military service store to buy groceries and meat that he finally went down.
Huang Guilan saw that her son looked energetic and not sick at all, yet he came downstairs half an hour late.
“Old Four, why are you coming down so late?”
“I was writing reports all morning.”
Xie Zhongming sat opposite his parents at the square table, picked up a shredded potato bun, and took a big bite. Thinking of last night’s absurd dream, his back stiffened unconsciously. Fortunately, Comrade Qiao had taken the children out. Otherwise, he did not know how he would face her.
He took another bite and only then noticed that the potato buns Comrade Qiao made were stir fried with lard. The fragrance was rich and enticing, far better than any bun he had eaten at a state owned restaurant.
Her skill at making buns was truly impeccable.
“Achoo.”
Walking through the compound with whitewashed walls and slogans painted on them, Qiao Xingyue sneezed several times in a row.
Who was talking about her?
Aunt Lan trusted her greatly and gave her a full month of living expenses at once, allowing her to manage meals freely. The amount was one hundred and twenty yuan.
Divided evenly, it came to four yuan per day, plus grain and meat coupons.
At this time, pork cost eighty cents per jin. Four yuan could buy five jin of meat if spent entirely on pork. Of course, she would not do that. In any case, eating at Commander Xie’s house was good, sleeping was good, everything was good.
These days, Aunt Lan still gave her generous portions of food and meat. She was afraid that if she kept eating like this, she would gain weight again and return to her former two hundred jin size.
Back at the Xie household, Xie Zhongming had eaten half a bun and was drinking porridge.
At this moment, Jiang Beiyang rushed in from outside the main hall, holding a telegram sealed in an envelope.
Seeing Xie Zhongming, Commander Xie, and Aunt Lan eating breakfast at the table, he hurried over and handed the telegram to Xie Zhongming.
“Zhongming, urgent telegram from Chadain Village. I do not know if something happened to the chubby wife.”
Xie Zhongming took the telegram, opened it, and read it.
Seeing his tightly furrowed brows, Huang Guilan grew worried.
“Old Four, did something really happen to the chubby wife?”
Xie Zhongming did not speak.
He clenched the telegram in his hand, his expression dark and heavy.
Xie Jiang took the telegram and glanced at it.
“Why is that chubby girl causing trouble in the village again?”
“What did she do?”
Huang Guilan initially was not angry. After taking the telegram and reading it clearly, even with her good temper, she felt furious.
“How could the chubby girl cause such a big problem this time? She stole eight hundred yuan from a fellow villager?”
The telegram was sent by the village head of Chadain Village. It stated that the chubby wife had stolen eight hundred yuan from a villager. That money was meant for bride price, buying household items, and hosting a wedding banquet.
If the money could not be returned, the villager would not be able to marry.
The villager also said that if the money was not repaid, the chubby wife would be sent to prison.
What was even more infuriating was that the chubby wife took the eight hundred yuan to the city department store, bought food and pretty clothes, and spent it all within a few days.
Huang Guilan trembled with anger.
“How can she eat so much? Eight hundred yuan gone in just a few days. No wonder she weighs over two hundred jin. Old Four, did you marry such a troublemaking wife just to be her lifelong cash cow?”
Jiang Beiyang chimed in.
“Zhongming, Aunt Lan is right. You cannot give her money anymore. Otherwise, she will know that every time she causes trouble, you will clean it up for her. She will only cause even bigger trouble, and you will lose even more money.”
Jiang Beiyang added,
“Zhongming, in my opinion, you should firmly refuse this time and directly submit a divorce report to the army.”
Xie Zhongming took the telegram back from Huang Guilan and clenched it tightly.
He had collected many telegrams like this over the years.
He had lost track of how much money he had paid to clean up after the chubby wife.
After careful consideration, he said calmly,
“No. This time, I must go to Chadain Village. I need to investigate this matter personally. Even if I am to divorce her, it should be after I see her, settle this issue, and then submit the divorce report to the organization.”
After a long silence, Xie Jiang finally spoke.
“Old Four is right. Even if you divorce, you must go to Chadain Village and meet her once. Whatever needs to be said should be said face to face.”
He patted his son’s shoulder.
“Old Four, handle the matter properly. A woman like this truly is not suitable to be a military wife.”
People only knew that his fourth son was married.
They had no idea what kind of wife he married.
Whenever someone asked, Xie Jiang always brushed it off vaguely.
If his comrades knew that the chubby wife was lazy and prone to stealing, he would have nowhere to put his old face.
Even five years ago, when Grandma Chen Suying asked what kind of granddaughter in law Zhongming had married, Xie Jiang and Huang Guilan lied and said that his wife was tall, beautiful, educated, and kind.
Xie Jiang added,
“Old Four, if she refuses to divorce this time, let her name her price. Whatever money she wants, our Xie family will pay her.”
He truly pitied his son.
He did not want Old Four’s lifelong marital happiness to be destroyed by the chubby wife.
After deep consideration, Xie Zhongming nodded.
“Dad, I will handle this properly.”
Because of the chubby wife’s matter, he lost all appetite for breakfast.
After packing lightly, he went to the train station and bought an afternoon ticket to Kuncheng.
With time to spare, he went to the military general hospital and deliberately registered with a male urology doctor.
The doctor wore black framed glasses. Seeing the infection, he clicked his tongue.
“It is infected like this. Why did you only come now?”
Xie Zhongming did not want to delay it either.
He had gone twice to the military clinic, but there were only female doctors.
Being seen by Comrade Qiao was already embarrassing enough. He did not want a second female doctor to see him, nor did he want Comrade Qiao to treat the infection again.
He would rather endure the infection.
That was why he delayed until today.
Fortunately, it was not serious. The doctor removed the stitches and performed cleaning and drainage.
“Pay attention to hygiene and change the dressing daily.”
After leaving the hospital, he went straight to the train station and boarded the train on time.
The next day, he arrived in Kuncheng, then took a bus to Shanquan Town, and finally hired an ox cart to Chadain Village.
After several transfers, he finally arrived at the chubby wife’s thatched house.
Next door lived Aunt Liu.
Everyone in the village had the surname Liu.
When he once carried out a mission in Chadain Village, he had stayed overnight at the chubby wife’s home.
That night, he drank a bowl of sweet potato porridge cooked by the chubby wife’s mother. He did not know that the porridge had been laced with animal aphrodisiac.
It was only when the chubby wife climbed onto him and forced herself on him at night that he realized what had happened.
Aunt Liu recognized him at a glance.
“Oh, is that Comrade Xie?”
Xie Zhongming was not wearing his military uniform today.
He wore a white shirt tucked into dark blue trousers.
His posture was naturally upright.
Aunt Liu, carrying pig fodder, stood in front of him. Her hunched body barely reached his chest, forcing her to look up at his handsome figure.
“Comrade Xie, are you here on a mission again in Chadain Village?”
Seeing an elder, the coldness in Xie Zhongming’s eyes softened slightly.
“No, Aunt Liu. I came back to see the chubby wife.”
Aunt Liu’s smile turned to shock.
“The chubby wife? Did you not know? She is dead.”
“Dead?”
It was like being struck on the head.
Although Xie Zhongming had never liked the chubby wife, she was still a living person.
“Aunt Liu, are you joking?”
Aunt Liu looked serious.
“How could I joke about this? If you do not believe me, ask your mother in law. She is over there scooping manure. Go ask her.”
Before she finished speaking, Xie Zhongming had already quickened his pace, leaped over a ridge, and rushed toward the chubby wife’s mother with agile steps.
The chubby wife’s mother was named Zeng Xiuzhu.
At first, Xie Zhongming did not recognize her. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed her.
He hurriedly asked,
“Mom, where is the chubby wife?”